and they need to figure out what's wrong with their own house, instead of worrying did i police mark halperin? did the bubble love some i enough? >> cenk, that was a fantastic rant, and i agree. aisle dimmen ratigan. he's cenk uer. "hardball" is up next. 6. >> buck up. good evening, i'm crist matthews. i'm in belfast, traveling this week with former president clinton who arrives in derry tomorrow. let's play "hardball." cheering section, both president obama and vice president biden are telling the democratic base to stop complaining and get out there and vote. mr. obama said in a "rolling stone" interview it's inexcusable to sit out voting this november.

our latest nbc news/"wall street journal" poll has some hints that the democrats may be closing the enthusiasm gap. one who seems to be gaining ground is the one running against rand paul. and we have p.j. o'rourke, a good name to have when you're broadcasting from the emerald island. his book is called "don't vote." is he cheering against the democrats? finally let me finish with a need to get in the car and drive. let's check the "hardball" scoreboards. we'll start with the connecticut senate race, where dick blumenthal leads linda mcma hon. in missouri, a poll by has robin carnahan within striking district of roy blunt, but it's

ayotte over hoses. we'll continue to check the hardball scoreboard each night. joining me is josh marshall, founder and editor of "talking points memo" and joan walsh of salon. this new appeal by the president, the vice president, speaking of talking points, they seem to have them. buck up. >> you know, they're in a tough position. they have to get their base out. frankly myself, i think they're right. if the people -- every democrat who supports those positions, those people need to show up. the problem is that the white house keeping coming into this with -- a lot of this come down to tone. it's really tough for them to get the message out about without seeming dismissive or condescending. they already have this track record where a monthable robert gibbs said this thing about the professional left and this stuff, so they dealt themselves into a bit of a bad position,

but they have to do this. i think even though these comments will get people riled up and upset they have to do it, and i think to some extent it will work. >> let's take a look at what the vice president said along these lines. let's listen. >> there's something on the democratic base, not the core of it, that are angry because we didn't get every single thing they want. those that didn't get everything they wanted, it's time to buck up here, understand that we can make things better, continue to move forward, but not yield the playing field to those folks who are against everything that we stand for in terms of the initiatives we put forward. >> i guess the question is tone that's raised by josh. is it a question of tone or message? >> i think it's a bit of both. this is hard for me. i feel like i'm in the middle a family future. i love joe biden, but it's like

uncle joe is telling me to stop whining. that never works. have you ever told your kids to stop whining? it's not effective. the base is feeling scapegoated. i don't understand -- we don't see the republicans saying to the tea party stop whining, you didn't get everything you want, but we're better than the other side. it's a cedemaking message. i disagree with josh. i don't think it will work. with the vast majority of the progressive base vote? of course we will, but beats up on us just makes no sense to me. >> this is what i don't get, what do you mean by scapegoating? setting up a blame game situation assuming you're going to get beaten? >> i worry about that a bit. i'm not saying it flat-out. does it cross my mind? sure. i can't think of any other reason to do this. i don't know why you think a way to motivate people is to tell

them they're wrong, ungrateful, irresponsible. so when my mind can't find a good political reason. i go to future political reasons. maybe that's it or maybe they're just angry and need to get it in check. >> i think the last one is probably true. human nature may be just ticked off at the left progressive left. let's look at the way the president is using the language. quote, in a new "rolling stone" interview, the president said -- quote the idea that we've got a lot of enthusiasm in the democratic people need to shake off this lethargy. people need to buck up. there's the phrase, josh. i would imagine it's a combination of joan says they're angry that the left has been hitting them hard, and they're trying to get them guilt ridden enough to go out and vote. that's going to be such a catastrophe, i don't think you can blame it on a small

percentage of voters, which is the progressive left. >> i don't think they're setting anybody up for blame. i think the issue is that the white house needs to have a gut check moment with every potential voter, and tell people, look, this is -- this is hardball, we're in a real fight here, and even though people are dispoint, we need everybody to come and turn out. i think that's a message they have to send, that's a message they should send. at the same time, the white house is a pressure cooker right now, and i'm sure they feel embattled. i think they do feel angry. i think what they're feeling is we wish these people would stop whining. so they have a message that they could send, but to some extent their own feelings, emotions, which are bubbling over are kind

of coming through. there's a little more candor than might be wise for them. that's why it's coming out this way, you're ending up with these -- these quotes that i -- i think even democrats who really think they're right in some way kind of cringe to hear just because, again, the tone is not right. the president is not warm and fuzzy about relationship politician. he's not a clinton, for example. his idea is you vote for me, i'll do things for you. transactional. should he be upset with people who feel he didn't meet the transaction. >> i think you're right about the emotion, but emotion is a luxury you can't afford at this point, and i don't think -- i'm very unhappy, for example, with this slogan, you know, the last election was about changing the

guard and this one is about guarding the change. that also says to people, hey, we did the change, it's done, you should be happy, and we all know the president, first of all, the change is not done. so there's a lot of messaging mistakes going on here, and i think it's silly to be angry at voters, you've just got to reason and tell them why you're better than the other guys. >> josh, hold on a second. i want you to finish with this thought. with some high thinking i think republicans voted for you, because they wanted to vote for you as a person. they're problem gone, that group. you have a center left you have to work through and get programs through in congress, a congress where it takes 60 votes to get anything done, so you need a strong, in fact, a super majority, which is almost impossible. how do you promote, prosecute a progressive agenda, win reelection, hold the mid terms and do it all, keep your far left happy, keep your middle

right happy, to the extend you need it. how do you do all that and be a leader and keep everybody happy? you tell me, josh. >> i think what it comes down to, joan was just saying this emotion is a luxury the white house can't afford. the white house is saying to the core supporters, this appointment, sense of acting out, we can't afford that. what it shows is that when a political party is on the ropes, everybody's emotions are running high. no one can afford it, but everyone is doing it. i think it's a time when a wlaeder, the president of the united states need to step in and exercise that kind of leadership to get it away from a blame game and get it to pulling everybody together, the democrats frankly can't afford on either side right now to be indulging their feelings on disappointment either way. >> chris, i don't have an answer. i don't think you can keep everybody happy. the hope for this president and the hope for the democratic party is that these reforms that

they have put in place, as well as the stimulus, those three things really would make life better in a palpable way. frankly they haven't yet. they haven't for lots of reasons, but one of them may be they were too much of a compromise which they needed to do to get it is votes. you need democrats who make a difference. that's the only way to of a long-term democratic majority. we are those things too compromised, on wellpoint is saying we're not going to cover kids? we've compromised too many. that's an ideological question, a very practical, political question. if you give away the game to the corporations and then do not produce change, your base an the rest of the country will be angry for the right reasons. >> the corporations here's my view. both of you have said i respect those views from everybody,

anybody who's passionate about politics i believe in. this president has done what we were all taught in graduate school to do, what progressives have believed in from years and years, decades ago. one, you dewith an economic downfall, you say for the loss of consumer spending. that's what you do. that's what you're supposed to do. no one has had a better idea than the 1930s. number two. the wall street crowd needed governing. number three, he's pushed for progressive taxation, he's going after the rich. he's pull people like eric holder in justice. he has done what a progressive should have tried to do. we can argue about tone and degree of successful politics and personality, but i don't know how a liberal or progressive can turn their back on this guy and say they've got something better waiting in the closet. i don't know who that person is. >> i couldn't agree with you

more, chris. >> there ain't nobody out there butt this guy, and certainly nobody more progressive who can win election for sheriff. thank you, josh marshall -- maybe i'm getting mad. coming up, the latest poll shows that signs that democrats may be closing that enthusiasm gap despite this talk. the numbers are next. you're watching "hardball" only on msnbc. [ manager ] you know... i've been looking at the numbers, and i think our campus is spending too much money on printing. i'd like to put you in charge of cutting costs. calm down. i know that it is not your job. what i'm saying... excuse me? alright, fine. no, you don't have to do it. ok? [ male announcer ] notre dame knows it's better for xerox to control its printing costs. so they can focus on winning on and off the field. [ manager ] are you sure i can't talk -- ok, no, i get it. [ male announcer ] with xerox, you're ready for real business.

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each of their children to be born with a thirty thousand dollar share of the runaway national debt. our government is now taking over the choices we once made in life. there's mourning in america. under the leadership of president obama our country is fading and weaker and worse off. his policies were a grand experiment, policies that failed. this november, let's choose a smaller, more caring government, one that remembers us.

>> we have to keep fighting for these changes.

they don't come out by themselves. i hope people do the homework and find out about candidates. these choices will mean something. you have to ask yourself what direction do i want this country to go? do i want to invest in our middle class and mac it stronger, and clean energy? welcome back to "hardball" that was president obama in albuquerque today. i'm joined by howard fineman, and roger simon. i want to keep up with you, rog. let's look at the polls datas. this is what we call without -- how people will vote partywise. they were up nine points as recently as august. these are likely voters, by the

way. this is a very good poll for democrats. and that's higher than the support for either republicans or tea partiering. what do you make of that? i want to start with howard on that one. this sense of closure, with democrats are getting much -- >> i don't think it's a sense of closure, chris, i think it's a sense of opening up and more attention being paid for republican candidates. a month or two still lifetime in politics, and what happened is in places like pennsylvania, pat toomey, the republican nominee, very strong with the base and the republican party, but very conservative on figures cal matters. the question is whether that's pennsylvania or not. he's very conservative, but stressed cultural issues. too many yik is a club for growth, small government conservative, cut taxes, cut government, questioning social

security, social programs and medicare and medicaid. that's not pennsylvania, which likes its government for the most part. what joe sestak is doing to close the race there is less important than the fact that people are focusing on toomey what is me saying? what is he saying about social security? about rose, about frankly the thing that pennsylvanians like? because it's a big, industrial, generally moderate state. i think that's what's happening in place after place, the focus on the republican conservatives is what's bringing the democrats back. >> roger we'll have jack conway from kentucky in a minute. the same thing is happening there, the views toward drug legality on behalf the rand paul supporters with racist backgrounds giving him money, those questionings being asked right now. >> and howard's point is a good one. every year we say all politics

is local until we get to the mid terms and say, no, it's national in fact, it is a lot about local races, individual candidates, candidates with excel consequence in their close eithers, or candidates who don't bond well, or candidates who just have positions that people don't like. that's the good part. individual races where democrats might do better. the bad news is when you look at your poll and the parties that people have good feelings about, and you add the republicans to the tea party, you get 61% of the nation who don't like democrats that's still a mountain for the democrats to climb. even though they have closed on the generic ballot, they're still trying to convince people, persuade people that they should be rewarded that they have done something good for the country

and credible, and they ought to get another two years or six years. president obama has to deal with the problem with people spreading the rumor he's not the religion he says he is. here he is in albuquerque talking about his christian faith. >> mother teresa answered it in an article, and i was going to ask you the same, because i loved her answer. the first one is, why are you a christian? >> i'm a christian by choice. nigh family didn't franksly, they weren't folks who went to church every week. i mean, my mother was one of the most spiritual people i knew, but she didn't raise me in the church. so the came to my christian faith later in life. and it was because the

preseptember of jesus christ spoke to me in terms of the kind of life i would want to lead. >> howard, i completely understand that thinking, because i was raised in one religion, roman catholicism, i was lucky to have it handed to me basically by my parents, but he talks about being raised in an atheist family, basically, for all practical purposes and trying to find his religious faith. i would heat this to be called a headline. we've known this for a long time and now he's forced to come out with in and some adver sear media will say he's saying some new things. >> i don't think there's anything new particularly, chris, if you've read his autobiography or know anything about him, you basically knew that, but sure people take pot shots. they'll say this raises more questions than it answers. >> you know, when he says he accepted christianity, became a

christian, he talks about it in a way that frankly is not the way that born-agains talk about it. he doesn't have to talk about it that way. lord knows he doesn't, but if he's trying to reach other explain himself to the bible belt, and i don't know that he is, that's not going to do it because that's not the way they talk about it maybe it doesn't matter. >> let me take a potshot about this. i mean, did he have to throw his family under the bus to make this point? i mean, you know, his family didn't go to church, but he went to church? to me this is the worst thing he's done since comparing his grandmother to reverend wright. >> you're wrong. this disturbs me. how far do we go in politics to get a few extra votes? he's christian, fine -- >> i don't agree with that. >> i don't agree with that at all.

because i know his background, his mother was kind of a hippy. she was a free thinker. she wasn't a church-goer. he wasn't saying his mother was spiritual. let's go to bill clinton. he knew how to handle the bible belt. by more than half the voters overall, very good numbers relatively, and he cleans up among independenting, overwhelming numbers among independenting. your thoughts, and then roger. >> i think that's absolutely startling. what's amazing is how it contrasts with barack obama's number. roger was talking about the overall shape of this election, roger is absolutely right. the reason why he's right is because of independenting abandoning barack obama in droves. it's like they have a resid ilfeeling for the democrat ecparity somewhere, but right now it's not for obama, so they transferred it back to bill clinton. clinton -- in a way bill clinton

is leader -- it's he's still the leader of democratic party, and barack obama who got elected as around outsider is once again an outsider in his own party. >> well said. roger? >> i agree with that except one small point. one reason bill clinton is doing well, is he's not vieweded as a political figure. he's viewed as a philanthropist, a man who's raising hundreds of millions to, you know, cure aids, to solve environmental problems, things that are not especially political. sure he's going to go on the trail for barack obama, but i might -- i think once he does, he might see those figures shift a little. >> i hate to disagree with roger -- boy, we are really disagreeing a lot, but i haven't seen the poll numbers on that. i can't imagine there's anything in the united states who doesn't still recall bill clinton as a

political figure. he oozes politics out of every pore. that's also what makes him able to explain in kitchen table language what barack obama can't always seem to do. it's a fascinating thing, a blessing for obama. >> we're going to tag team roger. roger, why, if he's not seen as a politician is there such a differential between the vote he's getting, now the the overwhelming support, and 20% he's getting from republicans, that's a political differential. why is he so popular, as opposed to republicans if he's not seen as a political figure. >> independents are more likely to see him as nonpolitical, and they like nonpolitical figures action and they change their minds more than people who are republicans always and democrats always. these are people used to viewing people differently. i've got to say i saw bill clinton on david letterman not long ago.

bill clinton said he had just been in nevada campaigning for a candidate, didn't say harry reid, didn't say a democrat, he went out of his way just to get this neutral figure, making a point about solar energy and wind in. that's why he brought up nevada. this is a guy who has left to a large degree politics behind him even though those of us in the business will always see him that way. >> does that mean you believe that hillary clinton doesn't harbor ambitions down the road? if you think she does, then you would think he does. >> i would think hillary clinton would love to be president of the united states. if you take a look at what bill clinton's advice to barack obama actually was, a lot of it was payback for the last election. it's not very kind stuff. it's embrace people's anger for you, just embrace it and admit it, and then go on from there.

well, this is a guy who didn't embrace people's anger until he had to take a blood test and we produced, you know, a little blue dress, and barack obama doesn't see that he did anything wrong, and needs to apologize for it. he doesn't seem himself as guilt-ridden. he seems himself as a guy who has done the best he could for two years and now is getting out there trying to tell his story. >> i'm with you on that one, roger. i love this fisticuffs. >> then a genteel fisticuffs. >> i love howard. >> likewise, roger. always thinking himself to some extent as a "newsweek" guy. thank you roger simon, thank you howard fineman. up next sarah palin wants to be taken seriously, but "dancing with the stars" appearance too much in the limelight? stick around. you're watching "hardball" only

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and businesses impacted by the spill. we've paid over $400 million in claims and set up a $20 billion independently-run claims fund to cover lost income until people impacted can get back to work. and our efforts aren't coming at tax-payer expense. i know people are wondering-- now that the well is capped, is bp gonna meet its commitments? i was born in new orleans. my family still lives here. i'm gonna be here until we make this right.

back to "hardball." now to the sideshow. self-proclaimed mama grizzly was on front row with "dancing with the stars" to support her daughter bristol. take a listen. >> sarah, great to have you here. >> thank you. >> i know you're usually very bashful about giving things. >> this is amazing, so exciting. great to see this courage and joy and exuberance. >> what do you think about the jury? >> it's like before a hockey game you're not going to chew out the revs before your team is up. you guys are doing great. >> and your favorite dancer so far? >> so as far as o.o. my goodness. they're all amazing. bristol is not up yet.

but bristol the pistol. yeah, that's who we're rooting for. >> bristol her daughter finished in the top three. i wonder however whether all this celebrity television is helping to boost the seriousness with which we view her mother. next, jon stewart and bill o'reilly found common ground on the subject of glon beck. here these on "the daily show." >> so i wanted to come on the glenn beck program with my book, and they wouldn't have us. >> they don't know who you are. >> i know, but we called over -- >> i told beck, have stewart. he's pretty funny once in a while. >> he said no-go. >> he doesn't know who you are. >> i would love a conversation. >> nobody can. he's in a sealed room. >> no, is that true? >> nobody can talk to him. >> is he the bubble boy of fox news? >> he does the radio, goes back in the sealed room, on tv, and then he goes back. it's like howard hughes, you can't. >> eye riley declined an invite

to attend a rally next week. he said he would like to see colbert and stewart stand on their own four feet? can't tell here. now to tonight's big number. congressional lawmakers are in a rush to finish government business before next friday, and in a rush to raise ago much cash as possible. how many fund-raisers will be held? politico tells us 400. a mad crash for cash. tonight's nice to know who's paying for all this big number. up next, the democrat running against rand paul in kentucky, he's coming here in a minute. you're watching hardball. we're in belfast, northern ireland, where i'm traveling with former president bill clinton. back after this. ♪ [ slap! ] [ slap! slap! slap! slap! ] ow, ow!

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here is your market wrap. stocks rebounding in a 120-point swing today. the dow jones industrial average climbing 46 points s&p 500 adding five, the nasdaq tacking on nine points. stocks started lower on a larger than expected drop in consumer confidence, but turned after before midday. apple recovering on rumors analysts shot down the rumors saying cook is the heir apparent. boosted by robust pharmacy sales. monsanto plunging 8% on disappoints results. and ireland's spike today on

reports that the credit rating might be cut again grew to the growing cost. that's it for cnbc, first in big worldwide. now back to "hardball." welcome back. the latest kentucky poll shows a tight senate race from rand paul and jack conway. we're jon by the man himself, jack conway thank you for joining us. you've been hitting this guy in a couple ways that i think are serious business. should he send it back? >> well, good even to you, chris. we called on him a few days ago

to return contributions he received from white separatists. it's just too painful, if you're in public life, you all to look at those who are contributing to you. rand paul has had to dismiss in staffers because of the some comments they've made online. everyone seems to remember the 20 painful minutes he made where he rejected fundamental provisions of the civil rights act. i think it's on rand paul to make sure he would return contributions for people who have associations with white separatists organization. >> does she have a personal problem? >> i don't know. it just seems to me -- >> you're running against him. let me judge -- you have to judge him. do you think he has a problem or not? is it an issue about hi personality character? >> i think it's an issue he doesn't get kentucky. he doesn't get our values. if you take money from white separatists, that's not acceptable.

iology are i don't think it does us any good in the commonwealth of kentucky to have a candidate like rand paul that takes this money and also says he's against the americans with disabilities act and other issues like that. >> would you you have a bad conscience if you took money from racists? >> yes. >> does she -- >> yes, he should. >> so it's a character issue. i know he 'a libertarian, and all of us have talked about this. should there be certain drugs we don't consider contribute violations? with you don't use the full force of the law against people. some people have this view about marijuana use. what is his position, as you understand it? apparently he has a somewhat libertarian view on that subject, which you think are

arguing is not a kentucky view. >> he seems to say that it should be up to a state level. we have a peculiar problem with prescription bills being used for off-label purposes. it's an epidemic with oxycontin in iron kentucky. hall roberts, a republican has brought in a lot of moip to try to combat the issue, but rand paul has said he doesn't want any federal report for treatment or interdiction. i think we should treat criminals about criminals, but it's about being smart on it. this isn't an issue that kentucky can tackle alone. your attorney general. should people be arrested for smoking marijuana? kentucky? >> i think so. absolutely. it's against the law. >> should they be put in prison? >> well, i know, a first-time offense and small amount, i think we can incarcerate people for more serious offensings. we have to look at treatment and

other options. we can't incarcerate our way out of this problem, but as attorney general, i will enforce the drug laws. >> let me ask about this election. it seems like you have a real shot in the next month. we've had a big fight, i hear it all over my network where people on the progressive left activists, who pay attention to programs like this, they may be a small minority, but they make a lot of noise. should they be angry at president obama or should they be thrill they're lucky we live in a time where we have a progressive president? i'm serious, who was the last progressive president? >> on some things bill clinton was progressive, so i kind of eschew labels. >> with this president, i think is seen as a progressive. >> i don't know. i think they expected too much too early.

obviously this president is trying to deliver on a number of key initiatives. obviously governing is tougher sometimes than campaigning, but what's happening in kentucky, is we're surging, because we're putting kentucky first and talking about issues that are important to kentuckyians. the rationale for rand paul's candidacy is falling apart. chris, i've taken a whole lot of hits from karl rove and all these -- he's after me and i hoe some of your views go to conway fight fund to help us out, but he's calling for a deductible for every recipient of medicare, so the rationale is beginning to collapse. >> do you think karl rove is a negative influence on american life? >> i do. as someone who's taking about a million of special interest dollars coming running adding in the common relate of kentucky,

claiming that i have cut half a trillion. >> i've got a tough one for you. i got reports over the weekend that your senior senator mitch mcconnell has been personal leg holding up issuing subpoenas to the oil company, bp in particular for the role in the bp disaster. mitch mcconnell does not believe in a serious investigation of bp. is he in the tank? i can't think of another reason why he doesn't want a serious investigation of an environmental catastrophe. >> i can't think of another reason, either. i believe in accountability. is he in the tank with the oil industry? >> well, it seems like he is. i'll tell you what. it seems like hi 'trying to push this past the elections and not allow bob graham and committee, which has to report in july, not allowing them to have subpoena power. >> that's one good reason for you to get elected right there. thank you, jack conway, who goes

after the bad guys and knows the power of a subpoena. i'm serious. >> well, thank you very much. >> the one and only p.j. o'roarke, his new book is called "and i totally don't agree with it, "don't vote." we're from belfast, only on msnbc. fferent kinds of exercise, but basically, i'm a runner. last year. (oof). i had a bum knee that needed surgery. but it got complicated, because i had an old injury. so i wanted a doctor who had done this before. and unitedhealthcare's database helped me find a surgeon. you know you can't have great legs, if you don't have good knees. we're 78,000 people looking out for 70 million americans. that's health in numbers. unitedhealthcare.

rocks wexler calls himself a fire-breathing lib rad. kendrick meet. he's behind marco rubio, but is hoping more big-named democrats will marginalize him and make him the democrat in the race. "hardball" will be right back. but your blood sugar may still be high,

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we're back. to give his take is p.j. o'rourke, who has a new book called "don't vote." i can say words like that when you're on, because i'm merely quoting your book. why are you hiding in new hampshire? they tell me they don't even like parks up there. >> you just said it all. you explained it for me. you know, as a matter of fact, it was the conventional republicans that won the primaries up there, not the tea party candidates. so go figure. >> how did you vote, as a live

free or die republican? >> i voted -- >> with the establishment -- i voted the tea party candidate except for charlie bass, because he's my friend, my good friend and my neighbor, and i owe him money. oar he owes me money, i can't remember. >> you're the greatest satirist in the world. let's look at one of your competitors. >> come on, chris, you're a pop you list, how can you hate the people and be a pop you list? i mean, you're a progressive -- >> i'm narrating. >> go ahead. i'm sorry. >> here's bill a maher going after christine o'donnell. i want you to add the icing to the cake. the question was something she said back in 1998 that's com back to haunt her.

>> you know what? evolution is a myth, and even subsidiary win -- you know what, even darwin -- >> have you ever looked at a monkey? >> why aren't monkeys still evolves? >> i think that's the open question, why aren't monkeys still evolving in front of our face. if you're looking at a monkey and it's not turning into your little brother, it obviously wasn't true. >> i've got some problems with evolution myself, because i look around at say democrats and say, that's evolved? i would say it's going in the other direct, you know? illustrates iflgts what about your friend sharron angle, who says she wants second amendment remedies, that's her phrase, if you don't like the way congress voted last week. didn't lee harvey oswald have a second amendment remedy?

>> that sounds like some sort of soprano euphemism there. my attitude is, let's election some crazy people. we've tried it with sane people, and it really didn't work. so what's the alternative? >> i want to know the alternative. one night tony snow and i laughed at you for three hours when you were doing parliament of horrors. i think it was a republican retreat. it was great fun. you've gone up to new hampshire. that's where people go when they're tired of tax and-chusetts. i love that state. is it possible to get away from government, big cities and the complexities of whatever and live in new hampshire. does it work? you're there. >> no, it doesn't work. the irs guy finds you. can't go so far off the grid the

irs can't track you down. i would love to be apolitical. i've been involved with politics almost as long as you have. it occurred to me the other day i'm having as much fun as a grizzly bear getting a bikini wax. yell, i'd love to say, yeah, here's the car keys and here's my bank cards, you know where the liquor cabinet is, you can't be a-parental or apolitical, tempting though it is at times. >> so you stand with the president and joe biden, buck up, don't wine, go out and vote. >> i wouldn't go that far. i'm also pretty -- that's a gravitas move, giving an interview to "rolling stone" by the president. >> it worked for general mcchrystal. >> he's already lost the youth

vote, with taking twinkies out of the lunch and putting carrots in and extending the school year. no kid will vote for him. >> here he is, they invited him in, steve colbert. >> now, we all know there's a long tradition of great nations importing foreign workers to do their farmwork. after all, it was the ancient israelites who built the first food pyramids, but this is america. i don't want a tomato picked by a mexican. i want it picked by an american, then sliced by a guatemalan and served by a venezuelan in a spa where a chilean gives me a brazilian. >> food for you to think about. p.j. o'roarke -- >> as if there weren't enough clowns in congress. >> that's right. it's a comedy club. "don't vote. it just encourages the past ards." when we return, more thoughts on

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let me finish tonight with hope for progressives. there is a decent chance this next month the democrats can snare victory from the teeth of disaster. never doubt that disaster looms. if the young voters have something better to do tuesday, november 2nd, if the progressive activists become passive if the democrats fail to embrace -- catastrophe looms.

republicans could gain an iron grip on the congress roadblocking everything, killing the obama dream in its bed. so this is the open question -- not will it be a tough election for democrats, but more to the heart of it, will it be the crushing defeat that leads to a year of backbiting, division and ultimately defeat? or will it be an election night outcome from which they can recover and ultimately rally? this is why the president is telling democrats in the "rolling stone" interview to buck up and shake off the lethargy, wise hi language is getting tougher, why people are saying if they want to take their ball and go home, it means they're not serious in the first place. there are opportunities for success between now and november 2nd. the west coast is looking better for boxer and marry. they can beat the candidates blumenthal can win in connecticut if he offers true integrity over the glitz and grit being thrown against them. joe sestak, the veteran navy admiral can close hard and